The personal exhibition of Yulia Tarasova's watercolor painting “On the Paths of Khutir Nadiya” is dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the Theater of Luminaries.
    Yuliya Tarasova was born in Znamyanka, Kirovohrad region. She graduated from the art faculty of Kirovohrad (now Central Ukrainian) State Pedagogical University named after V. Vynnychenko (2004). For many years, she successfully worked as a graphic designer at the publishing and printing center "Imex-LTD" in Kropyvnytskyi. An active participant of plein air events of the Kirovohrad regional organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine.
    The exposition of the exhibition consists of almost 50 watercolors made by the artist during the years 2020-2022 during creative trips, excursions and plein airs events in the Ivan Karpenko-Kary (Tobilevich) State Reserve-Museum "Khutir Nadiya", which is located near the village of Mykolaivka, Kropyvnytskyi district, Kirovohrad region. The original addition to the exhibition are the poems of modern Ukrainian poets-compatriots Volodymyr Brovchenko, Leonid Narodovoy, Svitlana Barabash and the editor-in-chief of the magazine "Dnipro" Mykola Lukiv about "Khutir Nadiya", which are exhibited in the form of printed pictures together with the artist's creative works.
    The unique museum institution "Khutir Nadiya" was created on the territory of the estate, which belonged to a prominent playwright and theater actor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ivan Karpenko-Kary (Tobilevich). The estate was founded in 1871 by the playwright's father, Karp Tobilevich, and named after his wife, Nadia Tarkovska. After returning from a three-year political exile in the spring of 1887, Ivan Karpovych settled on a farm and decided to turn it into a picturesque corner of his native nature, in his own words, "an oasis in the steppe." Mykola Sadovskyi, Panas Saksaganskyi, Maria Sadovska-Barilotti lived in the estate at different times. Talented artists Maria Zankovetska, Marko Kropyvnytskyi, Mykhailo Starytskyi met here. "Khutir Nadiya" is called the "Mecca of Ukrainian theater", because friends, colleagues on the stage and associates of the Tobilevichs came here. Each guest of honor had to plant his own tree, and now there are oak trees planted by luminaries of the Ukrainian theater, as well as many prominent cultural figures who visited at different times. Decorative and fruit plantations alternate with picturesque lawns with natural grass. The decoration of the park is Viburnum Alley, which during the life of Ivan Karpovich was a favorite place for his walks. Currently, the complex of the "Khutir Nadiya" nature reserve includes: the parents' house, a memorial house, the premises of the literary and memorial museum, the "Khutir Nadiya" park-monument of garden and park art, and a pond. A monument-bust of Ivan Karpenko-Kary and a stele dedicated to Nadiya Tarkovskaya were installed. The All-Ukrainian Festival of Theater Arts "September Gems" is held here annually.
    "On the Paths of Khutшr Nadiya" - Yulia Tarasova's first personal exhibition. Watercolor sketches present the imaginative worldview of an artist in love with the nature of her native land. The various landscapes of the old Khutir manor, as if the hushed reflections of the burlesque history of theatrical passions, appear through the blossoming of a flower, the image of a branch with tree leaves, the movement of wild grass and the flight of a dandelion, revealing the majestic world of boundless moods and emotions that "Khutir Nadiya " preserves and inspires. The compositions, mixed with professional skill and naive perception, are full of a special poetic mood, impress with the simplicity of the presentation of the topic and the openness of the existing reality, giving birth in the mind to allusions to the works of Kateryna Bilokur with her frank admiration for the surrounding world. There is a lot of poetry of comfort, feelings of love and empathy. The old house of Ivan Tobilevich and his wife Nadiya Tarkovskaya, and they themselves are embodied in memorial signs that seem to have grown into the ground, organically combined with nature, express a subtle emotional sentiment that prompts reflection. In numerous landscapes and still lifes - moments of peace, which the nature of the reserve gives. At the same time, life pulsates in each picture. In this way, the artist provides emotional balance, which is necessary in this difficult period of life for all of us", - noted Honored Artist of Ukraine Andriy Nadezhdin in the thematic booklet of the exhibition, which was developed by Yuliya Tarasova as a designer.
    And this is how the author of the exhibition, Yuliya Tarasova herself, defines the purpose and creative idea of her watercolor opening: "For a long time, I harbored the idea of writing a kind of portrait of the writer's homestead "Khutir Nadiya", which is unique for Ukraine." And so it happened! After numerous excursions, the first works were born. But with each subsequent visit to this amazing enclave of creativity, new gems emerge again and again, which I want to share on paper. Here, the divine blue shines in everything: the breeze envelops the branches of huge oaks, "water plays with autumn leaves", the viburnum is on fire, the color palette conveys even the aroma of apples and freshly cut grass... Here you relax, rest your soul, enjoy the epic peace of nature. There is a war in Ukraine. I want the swing of emotions that covered us to recede even for a moment. I want to share my love for our glorious land with everyone. Enjoy the reflection of this "green oasis in the middle of the vast Ukrainian steppe". And get inspired for Victory! After the exhibition, the works can be purchased, part of the proceeds will be transferred to help our army."